St. Anthony of Padua Catholic ChurchAngola, Indiana

  • Home
  • Our Parish
    • Become a parishioner of St. Anthony's >
      • Registration Form
    • Staff
    • Pastoral Council
    • Finance Council
    • Franciscan Friars
    • Our Mission Statement
    • Our History
    • Safety at our Parish >
      • Volunteer Information
      • COVID-19 RESPONSE
      • On Spiritual Communion
    • Report Child Abuse
  • Events
    • Weekly Bulletins
    • Ministry Schedule
    • 2020 Annual Bishop's Appeal
    • 2019 Fulfillment of the Promise >
      • 2018 Building Project Committee
      • 2018 Fund Raising Committee
      • 2017 Fulfillment of the Promise Campaign
      • 2016 Steering Committee
    • Parish Town Hall Meeting
    • Pilgrimage to Carey
    • Politics and the Catholic Church
  • Mass Schedule & Sacraments
    • Advent & Christmas 2020
    • Lent >
      • Preparation Day for Easter
    • Easter
    • The 7 Sacraments
    • Baptism
    • Marriage Preparation
    • Eucharistic Adoration through the Night
    • At the Death of a Loved One
  • Ministries
    • Altar & Rosary Society
    • Hispanic Ministry
    • Human Life and Dignity
    • Knights of Columbus >
      • Reverse Raffle 2018
      • March for Life 2020
    • Media Outreach Commission
    • Suicide Prevention
  • Faith Formation
    • Children's Religious Education
    • First Communion Preparation
    • Confirmation Preparation
    • High School Catechesis (Youth Ministry)
    • Trine Campus Ministry
    • Young Adults
    • Adult Faith Formation
    • That Man is You!
    • How Do I Become Catholic?
    • Scouting at St. Anthony's
    • Catholic Schools
    • FORMED Video Service
  • Our Blog
  • Support Us
    • "Serving the Present, Building Our Future"
    • Text to Give
    • Planned Giving
  • Contact Us
    • I need a prayer
    • Stay Connected
    • 2019 Parish Directory
    • myParish App
    • Social Media

On Bad Priests and Judas Iscariot

9/13/2018

0 Comments

 
Nota bene: this op-ed first appeared as Fr. Bob's "Letter from the Pastor" in the SEptember 2018 issue of Catholic 101: A Magazine for Catholics in Steuben County, published by St. Anthony od Padua parish incl. St. Paul's Catholic Chapel. The opinions expressed herein are Fr. Bob's.

In recent weeks, we as Catholics have experienced pain, shame, anger and confusion as a grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania revealed how a number of bishops mishandled accusations of abuse by clergy and other employees of the Church. Such news calls forth all sorts of reactions.

 
Let me say, first of all, that most of these reactions are legitimate. You feel what you feel. You are supposed to get angry at injustice. You are supposed to feel hurt when your family messes up. Sure, of course there are other families that mess up too. But this is my family, and we messed up. It hurts.
 
In my years as a Franciscan friar and as a Roman Catholic priest, I have known and spoken with both abusive priests and victims of abuse. I have worked closely with bishops who took the painful but necessary steps to protect the innocent; and I have had to work with bishops who tried to act like there was no problem. I do not expect perfection. I do expect a minimum of decency.
 
In the midst of this, there are moments of hope. I hope that these news stories, for example, will help parishioners and others understand why we at St. Anthony’s enforce the safe environment rules so strictly. I hope that, if the Roman Catholic Church gets beaten up in the public media, this just might help all of society start to deal more realistically with some big problems that are hurting people everywhere – both in the church and elsewhere. And I hope that it will help me to love appropriately.
 
St. Francis of Assisi said, if you see someone whose life choices you cannot agree with, do not look down upon that person, but look rather into your own heart and examine your own sinfulness, and then ask yourself, how can I love this person more?
 
Jesus loved his apostles, even though he knew that one would betray him, one would deny him, and most of the rest would run away when he needed them most. He chose to love them anyway, and he chose to build his church upon them in all their imperfection and weakness. Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter were both apostles.
 
I pray for those who were hurt. I pray for those whose lives were ruined. And I pray that the People of God – who are the Church – will learn how to care for one another in charity and with patience. “You are God’s chosen ones. Put on, then, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in the Lord.” (Col. 3:12-13)
 
 
Peace and all good,
friar Bob Showers OFM Conv.


_________________________
Postscript:

You can read more about the parish's Safe Environment Program here. To report suspicion of sexual abuse at the church, here is contact information. The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend has recently upgraded its Safe Environment Program, and we at the parish have followed suit. As a pastor, I am well aware that these efforts can be a hardship for our volunteer religion teachers and other parishioners. Some may even feel that we are doubting them or casting suspicion upon them. That is not our intention, of course. Our goal is to nurture a safe environment for all families, children, youth and vulnerable adults, so that everyone can feel welcome, withour fear. Thank you to all the parishioners who help us strive for that safe environment.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About this Blog Page

    Our Blog is a community project by members of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Parish in Angola, Indiana USA.

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017

    Categories

    All
    Children's Ministry
    For Catechists
    For Parents
    Franciscan
    From The Pastor
    Human Life & Dignity
    Inclusive Church
    Knights Of Columbus
    Liturgy
    Movies
    Parish Events
    Sacraments
    Spirituality
    Young Adult Ministry
    Youth Ministry

    RSS Feed

Home
Weekly Mass Schedule
Contact
700 West Maumee Street
Angola, Indiana 46703
Phone: 260-665-2259
Fax: 260-665-2268
Email: office@stanthonyangola.com